{"id":364257,"date":"2025-12-22T20:23:11","date_gmt":"2025-12-22T20:23:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/364257\/"},"modified":"2025-12-22T20:23:11","modified_gmt":"2025-12-22T20:23:11","slug":"social-security-will-stay-open-on-extra-holidays-trump-granted-to-most-federal-employees","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/364257\/","title":{"rendered":"Social Security will stay open on extra holidays Trump granted to most federal employees"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Trump administration is giving most federal employees two additional days off this week<\/a> \u2014 the days before and after Christmas \u2014 but the Social Security Administration plans to stay open on both of those days.<\/p>\n

SSA Commissioner Frank Bisignano told employees in an all-staff email on Sunday that the agency will keep field offices and phone lines open on Dec. 24 and Dec. 26, \u201cin line with our commitment to meeting the public need.\u201d Processing centers will also be staffed virtually, and virtual administrative law judge hearings will also be held on those days.<\/p>\n

According to internal documents obtained by Federal News Network, SSA is looking for volunteers to keep operating these days.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn order to balance the needs of the public and our workforce, we will solicit interest from employees who would like to work on Wednesday and Friday,\u201d Bisignano told employees.<\/p>\n

]]><\/p>\n

Last week, President Donald Trump signed an executive order<\/a> granting most federal employees additional days off on Dec. 24 and Dec. 26. It\u2019s the first time in recent years that federal employees have received two additional days off around the holiday.<\/p>\n

Federal employees already get Dec. 25 off for Christmas Day as a standard\u00a0federal holiday<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Despite the additional days off for most, Trump\u2019s executive order clarified that some agencies and offices may need to remain open, and that certain federal employees may still need to report for duty for \u201cnational security, defense or other public need.\u201d<\/p>\n

A former SSA executive told Federal News Network it was unusual for the agency to remain open during holidays declared by the president.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t believe it\u2019s anywhere near normal,\u201d the former SSA official said.<\/p>\n

SSA typically sees a lower volume of calls and field office visits around the holidays. But visits and call volumes often spike back up in January. Keeping the agency open these days could reduce the need to reschedule appointments into 2026.<\/p>\n

Federal News Network has reached out to SSA for comment.<\/p>\n

]]><\/p>\n

SSA employees who volunteer to work these days are eligible to receive holiday pay. Volunteers working in field offices and teleservice centers will work onsite. Field offices and phone lines will be staffed from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. local time.<\/p>\n

The internal guidance states that a manager or officer-in-charge will be required onsite during these hours. They will receive holiday pay, as well as eight hours of administrative leave for each day worked.<\/p>\n

Volunteers in processing centers will work a full eight-hour shift, and are also eligible for holiday pay. Processing center volunteers will need to work a full eight-hour shift, but all work will be done remotely.<\/p>\n

Bisignano said SSA will ensure \u201cnecessary staffing\u201d from IT and facilities will be working both days.<\/p>\n

Bisignano told employees that keeping SSA open these two days is necessary \u201cto serve the nearly 75 million seniors, disabled Americans, and most vulnerable who rely on us every day.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cSince my confirmation as commissioner, I have pledged to meet our customers when and where they want to be served \u2014 online, on the phone, and in person,\u201d he wrote.<\/p>\n

SSA, however, is planning to cut visits to its field offices by half<\/a> next year. NextGov\/FCW first reported<\/a> on the agency\u2019s plan to reduce field office visits.<\/p>\n

SSA lost about 7,000 employees<\/a> this year through voluntary incentives. It also relocated many of its employees from its headquarters and regional offices to field offices.<\/p>\n

Shortly after his Senate confirmation in May, Bisignano told employees<\/a> in an internal call that his goal is to make SSA a \u201cdigital-first\u201d organization, and to overhaul its website, so that more beneficiaries \u2014 primarily retirees and Americans with disabilities \u2014 can get their questions answered online, instead of over the phone or in person at field offices.<\/p>\n

]]><\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re never going to be client-first if we\u2019re not digital-first in this era,\u201d he said. \u201cThat\u2019s the only way we\u2019re going to win. You\u2019re competing with experiences that people have with Amazon. If I can get something done at Amazon, why can\u2019t I get something done the same way with Social Security? That\u2019s how people think.\u201d<\/p>\n

Prior to Bisignano taking office, SSA under the Trump administration proposed and walked back\u00a0several plans<\/a>\u00a0to limit the agency\u2019s level of phone support to beneficiaries.\u00a0SSA in mid-April\u00a0launched an AI \u201canti-fraud\u201d check<\/a>\u00a0on all claims filed over the phone, which added an extra three days to processing.<\/p>\n

In a separate call, Bisignano said his goal was to get call wait times down to \u201csingle digits.\u201d<\/a>\u00a0The agency, has removed public data on call wait times<\/a> from its website.<\/p>\n

Bisignano told employees that SSA will be able to implement new AI tools and provide better customer service to beneficiaries within his first year on the job.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is a six-year term, but it\u2019s going to be less than a one-year job. I\u2019m not saying we\u2019re going to be done with this in a year. Doesn\u2019t mean I\u2019m leaving in a year, but that\u2019s my time frame for this. We\u2019ve waited too long. There\u2019s too many items in the backlog. There\u2019s too many people waiting,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Most of SSA\u2019s workforce was deemed \u201cexcepted\u201d<\/a> during the recent government shutdown, meaning they continued to work and were only paid once the shutdown ended.<\/p>\n

During the shutdown, however, SSA paused work on some mandated work with benchmarks set by Congress. That included continuing disability reviews (CDRs) and redetermination for Supplemental Security Income (RZs).<\/p>\n

The former involves SSA reviewing the medical records of those receiving disability benefits, and determining whether they are still disabled. The latter involves the agency reviewing non-medical factors \u2014 like income and resources \u2014 to determine if individuals should remain on disability benefits.<\/p>\n

Congress mandated SSA to complete 2.4 million redeterminations for Supplemental Security Income and 400,000 continuing disability reviews last year. SSA\u2019s Chief of Field Operations Andy Sriubas told managers last month<\/a> that the agency would reset its workload targets when the shutdown ended.<\/p>\n

If you would like to contact this reporter about recent changes in the federal government, please email\u00a0jheckman@federalnewsnetwork.com<\/a>, or reach out on Signal at jheckman.29<\/p>\n

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